In a wireless communication system, such as a long term evolution (LTE) communication system, services are provided to a subscriber on radio bearers. Radio bearers are channels that carry audio, video, data, and/or control signaling between a network node, such as a mobile management entity (MME), and a base station or between a base station and a user equipment (UE) of a subscriber. For example, voice packets of a voice-only service between a landline caller and a wireless subscriber are carried by an uplink bearer carrying voice packets and overhead from the UE of the wireless subscriber to the base station and a downlink bearer carrying voice packets and overhead from the base station to the wireless subscriber. Also, a transport bearer carries voice and overhead from the base station to a network node that is connected to the public switched telephone network (PSTN) or backhaul network and another transport bearer carries voice and overhead from the network node to the base station.
Some services, such as video and voice over Internet protocol (VoIP) or voice over LTE (VoLTE) require at least two bearers in each direction, one for carrying voice and one for call signaling. For such services, a first downlink bearer carries voice from the serving base station to the UE and a second downlink bearer carries signaling from the serving base station to the UE. Similarly, a first uplink bearer carries voice from the UE to the serving base station and a second uplink bearer carries signaling from the UE to the serving base station. Further, four transport bearers carry voice and signaling between the base station and the network node.
The base station and network nodes currently use the bearer as the level of granularity to manage connections. This means that if a bearer associated with a service fails, the remaining bearers associated with the service continue to be reserved for the service, thereby unnecessarily tying up resources. Further, quality of service (QoS) bandwidth and bit rates are specified for each bearer independently, without regard to the particular needs of the service as a whole. Admission control is also performed at the bearer level. Thus, for example, one bearer of a service may be admitted while others are not, thereby preventing the service from being established correctly.